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Lawmakers from Sierra Leone’s main opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), boycotted parliamentary proceedings on Tuesday morning to attend an emergency meeting in solidarity with their detained National Secretary General, Lansana Dumbuya.
The Opposition Leader in Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo wrote: “This morning, Opposition Members of Parliament attended an urgent meeting convened by the Party to discuss the situation surrounding our Secretary General. We express our full solidarity with him during this time.”
The urgent gathering at the APC party headquarters was convened by Party Acting Chairman Osman Foday Yansaneh. It serves as a direct response to the events of Monday, February 16, when the trial of the Secretary General at Pademba Road Magistrates’ Court No. 1 ended abruptly without a scheduled return date.
Magistrate Mustapha Braima Jah and state prosecutors walked out of the courtroom on Monday, citing an unmanageable atmosphere after more than 100 lawyers appeared voluntarily to represent Dumbuya.
The legal team, led by Hon. Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK), described the magistrate’s exit without a formal adjournment as “unprecedented and disrespectful,” leaving the accused remanded in legal limbo.
Tuesday’s emergency meeting was called to “put heads together positively” and determine the party’s next steps in the face of what they describe as a deterioration of judicial independence.
Party officials are reportedly strategizing on how to handle the indefinite detention of their chief administrator, who was denied bail last week on charges of incitement and public order offenses.
The charges stem from remarks Dumbuya allegedly made against President Julius Maada Bio during a rally at Attouga Stadium on January 31.
